Dawn Porter on ’37 Words,’ Title IX and the Importance of Pairing Billie Jean King With Gloria Steinem
variety.comAddie Morfoot ContributorDawn Porter and Nicole Newnham’s four-part docuseries “37 Words,” debuting June 21 on ESPN, celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX while also exploring the current struggle to maintain and evolve the 1972 law that forbids discrimination based on gender.Prior to 1972, gender discrimination was commonplace in education and athletics.
Physical activity for girls and women was cast as unfeminine, and while schools poured money and other resources into programs for male students, budding female athletes were left to fend for themselves.
That all changed when Congress passed Title IX – a 37-word amendment — on June 23 that year.“37 Words” marks the latest piece of programming in ESPN’s month-long “Fifty/50” initiative to commemorate the landmark federal civil-rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in any educational institution that receives federal funding.
Billie Jean King, Mia Hamm, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Barack Obama and Gloria Steinem are among the bold-faced names in the docuseries.
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